|
Using photographs in the classroom
Why use photographs?
Choosing and using photographs
How do children respond to and ‘read’ photos?
Checklist for using photos in the classroom
Developing key skills
Why use photographs?
Photographs are hugely influential in all our lives. Every single
day we are exposed to hundreds of images, from the cereal packet
we see at breakfast, to advertisements, newspaper photographs, and
shop window displays. Images like these play an important role in
shaping our ideas about ourselves and other people.
However, the pictures we see do not always tell the whole story.
Media representations of countries of the
South can often contribute to negative stereotypes. It is
important that children, as well as adults, learn to question photographs.
Visual literacy can be as important as print literacy when it comes
to getting the most out of today’s information-rich environment.
Good photographs are an open-ended resource, with lots of potential
for use in the classroom. Working with photographs of people and
places from around the globe provides children with stimulating,
challenging, and creative learning opportunities, and helps them
to gain knowledge and critical understanding of the wider world.
These Cool Planet pages are based on an Oxfam photopack for schools,
Photo Opportunities 2000. The photographs in the gallery
(supplied with the pack) are taken from the 2000 Oxfam Pictorial
Diary, and show people from all over the world going about
their daily lives. The classroom activities are designed for use
not only with the photographs supplied, but also with other photos
on Oxfam's website and with photographs in general.
Add to these photos, adapt them, share them with colleagues and
pupils, and, above all, use them! You will be helping to give children
a more rounded view of life in other countries, and enabling them
to develop a sense of their own role as global citizens of an increasingly
interdependent world, where respecting and valuing diversity is
so important.
Choosing and using photographs
Many children will be used to looking at photos of friends and
family, and most children will already be familiar with having their
picture taken. (They will understand that this is not always a positive
experience!) The immediacy and familiarity of photos as a medium
may suggest that working with them in the classroom is straightforward.
However, visual literacy is a skill that needs to be taught, and
working with photos should not be seen as an easy option. It is
important to be clear why photos are being used, and how they fit
in with the rest of the work that the pupils are doing.
Photos can be a good way to introduce a new topic, such as families
or homes. They are useful in establishing a baseline of knowledge
and understanding that children might already have about another
place, or other people’s lives. They can provide a neutral
starting point, a forum in which children can begin to share, discuss,
and question their ideas, with confidence. Pupils should be given
the opportunity to discuss photos without feeling that they might
be giving the ‘wrong’ answer or opinion. Remember that
different children will interact with and interpret each photo very
differently – in just the same way as they would react when
meeting someone for the first time. A child’s expectations,
experiences, and preconceptions will inform their understanding.
Schools use photos in many different ways, and it is worth considering
where and how photos are used, both in the classroom and outside
it. For example, what sort of images does the school use in its
own publicity material?
How do children respond to and ‘read’
photos?
Do they see what adults see?
Research* has shown that when children look at photos, they are
probably not ‘seeing’ what adults assume they see. This
means it is important to use activities that help children to look
carefully and critically at different parts of the photo, as well
as the photo as a whole.
-
Children will ‘home in’ on clues
in the picture that seem familiar and use these to interpret
the photo –
even if their understanding of the clue doesn’t fit
the context of the rest of the picture. -
Children may add details that aren’t there
at all. They may ‘see’ things that are associated
with what they feel about the photo, based on their existing
knowledge and
preconceptions. -
Children respond differently to photographs according to
their age. Young children find detail very important; older
children concentrate more on the overall themes of the picture.
Younger children may not notice the middle ground of the picture,
and will look more at the foreground and background.
-
Children will tend to ignore the unfamiliar.
* Margaret Mackintosh, ‘Learning from Photographs’,
in Primary Sources: Research Findings in Primary Geography,
The Geographical Association, 1998.
Checklist for using photos in the classroom
-
Work with photos should be integrated with
other classroom work
-
Start with photos of people and places that
children are familiar with, before moving on to less familiar
subjects.
-
Use photos of good technical quality.
-
Put photos in some sort of context. Why was
the photo taken? Who by? What for?
-
Give children as much accurate information
as possible about the people and places in the photos you
use.
-
Encourage children to explore the links between their own
lives and experiences and those of the people in the photos.
Giving children the chance to take their own photos is a good way
of building their confidence. You may be surprised by the results!
Developing key skills
Literacy, numeracy, and communication skills are central to the
primary curriculum, and can all be actively encouraged through the
use of photographs in the classroom. Photographs are interpreted
largely through language and writing: working with photographs can
extend speaking and listening skills, and can help children to distinguish
between fact and opinion. Remember, children will tend to think
that what they see in photographs is ‘the truth’.
Numeracy can be promoted in a number of ways. Photos can support
work on collecting, representing, and handling data, and developing
understanding of shapes, spaces, and measurement. Photos can also
provide opportunities to discuss and describe patterns. Information
from photographs can be gathered, sorted, and recorded in the form
of different types of graphs, tables, and charts. Encourage the
use of language appropriate to maths: words and phrases such as
bigger than, next to, as short as, in, under, how much, altogether,
come naturally when discussing photos. This will help to develop
an understanding of mathematical language in a wider context.
|
Cool Planet for Teachers has moved
